CHENNAI: As rains brought about by cyclone Michaung wreaked havoc on Chennai, almost all the zones in Chennai were reeling under severe water inundation. The southern region (zones 11 - 15) of the corporation was the worst hit as three zones in the region registered record high rainfall. Perungudi zone recorded 50cm of rainfall followed by Adyar and Sholinganallur with 26cm and 23cm respectively in last two days.
Almost all major arterial and interior roads in the city were inundated with knee-deep water, while water entered residential areas and low lying houses. All the 16 streets in Arunthathiyar Nagar near Vyasarpadi, which is an inundation prone area, were filled with water up to 4 feet. “Around 25 families have moved to neighbouring relief centres. People stuck in houses are looking for food,” said C.B Parandhaman, a resident.
For Kirubha, a resident of Rangarajapuram in Kodambakkam, every year monsoon turns his residence into an island. Several streets in and around Rangarajapuram are completely secluded from outside as stagnant water level stands at 3 - 4 feet. “We have stocked enough groceries for a week. No one can move out. But rescue will be very difficult in case of any emergency in our area,” he further added.
Ministers KN Nehru, PK Sekar and Udhayanidhi Stalin are regularly monitoring the cyclone relief activities in Chennai. In addition to existing 16,000 staff on duty, more workers were brought in from other districts to flood affected areas. “5,000 workers were called from other districts. Around 1,500 of them will be deployed in Chennai. Around 1,845 people have been accommodated in atelier centres and more people are being evacuated from flood affected areas and housed in relief centres,” said Minister KN Nehru.
Three teams of National Disaster Response Force stationed in Arakkonam have been deputed to rain affected areas in Chennai, while 10 NDRF teams have been rushed to Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts. Meanwhile, two teams of NDRF stationed in Villupuram have been rushed to Tambaram for relief works. It has been decided to bring three more teams from Bengaluru.
The corporation had deployed around 990 motor pumps across Chennai. But most of it were submerged. “Rain is expected to subside by late night on Monday. Once the water starts draining, excess water will be pumped through motors and additional pumps will be deployed to replace the damaged ones,” said corporation commissioner J Radhakrishnan.
Normalcy is expected to start to return by Tuesday morning, says D Karthikeyan, principal secretary of municipal administration and water supply department. “In addition to food, bread and milk was procured through Aavin. Around one-third of rain for this season was recorded in just 28 hours. About 150 members of SDRF and four NDRF teams are in rescue operations. Even several pumping stations were submerged under water,” he further added. Adyar, Perungudi and Sholinganallur in Chennai continues to receive more rainfall. A total of 478 people are accommodated in relief centres. Around 100 tree felling incidents were reported from the southern region alone.
Most affected areas
Perungudi | Anna Nagar | Pallikaranai | Manali | Ambattur | Pulianthope | Egmore | Rangarajapuram | Avvai Shangumam Salai | VP Raman Salai | Musiri Subramanian Salai
New helpline numbers
044 25619206
044 25619207
044 25619208